Antigen test with saliva samples, are they available? are they more useful for detecting omicron?

• Office The eight questions about the sixth wave that we all ask ourselves and whose answer you will not find in the official protocols

• Omicron Health: We face the new variant with a more powerful shield

• Self-diagnosis How the pharmacy antigen test is done

In the same way that some of us are from the beach and others from the mountains,

and reproduce.

has decided that she

reproducing in the

while her older sisters had a predilection for the lungs.

We are facing

in this disease that changes our pace daily.

To begin with, the fact that

(we spend the day talking) or that among the

as frequent

.

Another novelty is the declarations of experts who during the last days

in which we are taking the sample is really the most appropriate now.

Are we making a mistake by taking the sample only in the nose?

What does science say?

In a study conducted at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, the diagnostic tests of 382 COVID-19 patients were compared.

In patients

, while nasal swabs found it 100% of the time.

The surprise was that in

of the time, while nasal swabs detected it 86% of the time.

Another recent study found that

, saliva samples

and were 12 times more likely to be

. If this is true, if we were able to detect the positive one day earlier depending on the type of sample, many infections could be avoided.

Although it all sounds very logical, the truth is that

and have not yet been published in scientific journals.

The evidence we still have in this regard is very weak.

Being aware of this, numerous

taking by additionally taking a throat sample.

They believe that despite the inconclusive evidence, we should start making decisions and taking action.

The reality is that

The coronavirus

and when we go he has already returned.

What do the health authorities say?

For now ,

and it is not recommended to do "home experiments" by modifying the instructions indicated by the manufacturer.

In fact, proponents of throat swabs, including one of its greatest exponents, Michael Mina, a former epidemiologist and immunologist at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health,

by the public.

part of the regulatory agencies.

That is to say: the very experts who have opened the debate and who recognize that they themselves take the double sample (throat + nose) at home

.

As scientists they admit that this is not the way the tests have been developed and tested and that more research is needed.

What are the drawbacks?

• In the first place, although it seems that the classic nasal swab tests could be suitable for throat swabbing,

  they need to be tested for this purpose since we do not know the number of false positives or negatives

  that the throat swab can cause.

• On the other hand, there are some practical drawbacks when taking the sample.

  In some patients it could produce greater rejection

  (in fact gagging is frequent) or it may be difficult to obtain a correct sample on the palate.

How would be the ideal sampling?

Although, as we have explained,

some experts suggest that the ideal would be a double sample, taken first from the throat and then from the nose.

In fact,

to teach the general population how to do it.

However, due to the difficulty many people experienced in taking the throat sample

• Firstly

  , the swab should be rubbed on the soft part of the palate

  , on both sides of the bell, and then the

  smear should be made in the usual way on both nostrils

  .

• It is important to note that to avoid errors

  you should not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum during the 30 minutes prior

  to the test.

• It has been observed, for example, that

  traces of orange juice could create a false positive

  in the antigen test.

Saliva test: the alternative

An alternative that in principle seems simpler to double sampling would be to favor the use of saliva tests.

In fact, this week there has been

.

However, there is no official evidence or indication that performing this type of test is preferable to nasopharyngeal tests.

For now it is considered that both are equally valid and reliable if they are done at the right time and in the right way.

In fact,

, the truth is that doing it correctly has a little more crumb.

First of all

, and

so that the saliva is not superficial and comes from the throat.

This is something that for some people (especially children or older people with dry mouth) can be difficult.

In summary:

for the moment "

", doing

, but with the antenna on (and jaws open) waiting for the recommendations to change at any time.

Hopefully, for once, we can get ahead of the bug.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Science and Health

• Coronavirus

• covid 19

• Omicron variant

• Antigen test

• United Kingdom

• U.S

• Delta variant

• Masks

• Lockdown

• deconfinement

• new normal

• regrowth

SaludSanidad and the CCAA agree to reduce the quarantine of Covid positives without symptoms to seven days

SATURATED NURSE Ómicron symptoms: Muscle pain, fatigue and headache, but without loss of taste or smell

CoronavirusThe EMA has doubts about the need to give booster doses "continually" and rules out 'flu' from Covid

See links of interest

• Last News

• covid

• What

• Check Christmas Lottery

• Work calendar 2022

• The reading

• Paco Gento dies

• Real Betis - Alaves

• Cadiz - Espanyol